Earth ChangesS


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Sinkhole closes street in Michigan


The Times Herald
Thu, 09 Apr 2015 20:43 UTC
Sinkhole
© Beth LeBlanc / Times HeraldSinkhole closes yet another street
A portion of Minnie Street in Port Huron Township is closed because of a sinkhole.

The street will be closed between 25th and 26th streets through Friday for repairs, according to Kirk Weston, managing director for St. Clair County Road Commission.

Weston said the sinkhole developed because of a failed storm drain.

Comment: Also see:

  • Sinkholes continue to plague Missippi town
  • New Florida sinkhole in same Florida town - 3rd sinkhole in Florida in a month
  • Sinkhole opens up on Santa Cruz coast, California


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Arrow Down

Sinkhole opens up in New Castle, Pennsylvania

David Burcham
New Castle News
Thu, 09 Apr 2015 20:37 UTC
Sinkhole
© David Burcham/NEWS
A sinkhole big enough to swallow a tire appeared yesterday morning on the city's east side.

James Penwell of Wolfe Street made the discovery while walking home around 9:30 a.m. The hole formed inside the utility cut at the intersection of Florence and Epworth streets.

"I almost stepped into it," said Penwell, who said he didn't notice the hole being there when he walked past 45 minutes earlier.

Comment: Also see: Sinkholes continue to plague Mississippi town

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Binoculars

Symbolism? Black flamingo, possibly unique, found in Cyprus

Michele Kambas
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 08 Apr 2015 20:00 UTC
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Black flamingo with some pink ones
An extremely rare black flamingo has been spotted on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, exciting nature lovers who said it may be the only bird of its type ever seen.

The flamingo, seen on the banks of a salt lake on Wednesday morning, is thought to have a genetic condition known as melanism, which causes it to generate more of the pigment melanin, turning it dark, rather than the usual pink colour.

"From what have seen on the Internet, there was only one other sighting ... in Israel, so maybe this is the second one," said Pantelis Charilaou, head of the environmental department of the British Sovereign Bases, territory under the control of former colonial power where the bird was seen.

The flamingo, entirely black, save for a tuft of white feathers on its rear, was feeding with others on the banks of the lake on Wednesday afternoon. Experts said it may be the same one that was spotted in Israel in 2014.

Comment: See also: Man snaps photo of rare black flamingo

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Cloud Precipitation

40-min hailstorm leaves a trail of destruction in Mathura, India

Amit Bhattacharya
The Times of India
Thu, 09 Apr 2015 16:47 UTC
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© Arun KumarMassive pieces of hail caused damage to crops in Mathura district's villages.
It was 3.30pm on Friday. The hailstorm started suddenly as Bhura Singh Meena of Bilauthi village in Mathura district was working in his field. "The hailstones were pretty big and hurting. We ran for cover to the local school," said Meena.

The storm subsided in a few minutes but what happened next is something Meena hasn't seen in his 60-odd years. It started again, but this time there was no rain, just hail. "It was like hard white balls falling from the sky," he said.

Three spells of hail took place in a span of around 40 minutes in the district. The storm started over Vrindavan and move north-northwest leaving a trail of smashed car windshields, hole-ridden asbestos roofs, scores of dead birds and animals as well as injured people. A house in Nagla Imam Khan village collapsed, killing two persons.

"Hailstones weighing up to 1kg fell during the storm," said district revenue official Ranvir Singh. There was no way of confirming the claim, but thousands of hectares of flattened wheat fields through the district told their own tale of the storm's fury.

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Attention

Wild boar attacks 2 people in Gloucestershire, UK


itv.com
Thu, 09 Apr 2015 15:54 UTC
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© ITV NewsA wildboar attacked a couple and their dog as they walked in Lydney
Police are warning the public to beware after a wild boar went on the rampage - attacking a couple and their dog.

The group were walking along a footpath on Ayleburton Common, part of the Lydney Park Estate, when the boar charged from the undergrowth, leaving the springer spaniel with a broken leg and other severe injuries.

Leaving the dog for dead, the hog then tried to attack the woman, and it was only when her husband beat it off with a branch that it finally left.

The gamekeeper on the estate has been informed and he said he believes there is a female boar with a young family on the estate, which may explain the violent behaviour.

Police are advising all walkers to take care when walking on the estate - and in wooded areas generally -and to ensure their dogs are kept well under control.
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Info

Magnitude 4.5 and 4.2 earthquakes strike Baja, California

Anthony Kurzweil
KTLA
Wed, 08 Apr 2015 13:06 UTC
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.5 struck in Baja California Wednesday, the USGS reported.

The temblor hit at 12:23 p.m., about 4 miles west of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico, according to the USGS.

Guadalupe Victoria is located in Baja California, about 42 miles away from El Centro, California and 121 miles from San Diego, California.

A second quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2, struck 7 miles east of Guadalupe Victoria less than 10 minutes later, according to the USGS.
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© USGS
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Arrow Up

Peru's Ubinas volcano explodes, spreads ashes over nearby villages

Hillary Ojeda
Peruthisweek.com
Wed, 08 Apr 2015 16:40 UTC
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© Peru21/USIThe Ubinas volcano erupted this morning at 4:24 a.m.
The Ubinas volcano erupted early this morning, sprinkling ashes over villages only minutes later.

Nearly on the anniversary of the evacuation of 28 thousand camelids from its pastures, the Ubinas volcano erupts once again.

The Ubinas volcano of the Moquegua region erupted this morning at 4:24 a.m. causing a layer of ash to fall over nearby villages minutes later, according to Perú21.

On March 31, 2014, the volcano's eruption caused Querapi residents to be evacuated as it sits just five kilometers from the volcano. Days later on April 21, Peru ordered the evacuation of the camelid animals, as the volcano posed a threat following further activity.

Today the Ubinas volcano erupted after about four months of calm. The National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology of Peru (SENAMHI) calculated that the 2.5 km column of ash above the crater could reach more than 15 kilometers to the southeast.

Escacha and Ubinas Valley therefore will be receiving a layer of ash on their homes, cars, sidewalks, and buidlings today following the eruption.

Scientific institutions advise that the local populations protect themselves with masks and goggles and to protect water resources and food to prevent contamination.
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Wolf

Elderly woman died from dog attack in Wilkes County, Georgia

Randy Key
wjbf.com
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 14:51 UTC
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Body Found graphic
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has released the autopsy results on an 81-year-old woman who was found dead in a ditch in Washington, Georgia earlier this week.

The autopsy on Neta Lee Adams was performed Thursday at the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur, Georgia and the results are that Adams died after a dog attack. Her official cause of death has been ruled Traumatic Injury.

The manner of Adams' death has been ruled accidental, but the GBI and the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office are continuing the investigation into Adams' death.
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Snowflake Cold

Migratory birds starving in Nova Scotia due to prolonged snow cover

Ray Bradshaw
globalnews.ca
Tue, 07 Apr 2015 14:32 UTC
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American woodcock
This extended Winter has been hard on us, but it's been especially hard on migratory birds moving into our area.

Thanks to the snow, birds are struggling to find food and many are dying or becoming too weak to fly.

Injured and sick birds are constantly being brought in to 'Homeward Bound City Pound' in Dartmouth.

"This robin was found in a puddle on the side of the road," says Katie Hauser, an employee at Homward Bound.

"Oh he's very skinny. You can feel, that's his keel bone right there. He should be puffed up just like a big chicken breast," said Hauser.

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Snowflake

Unusual cold snap brings early snow in New South Wales


9news.com.au
Wed, 08 Apr 2015 13:50 UTC
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Early snow in New South Wales
It's barely a week into April, and already snow has started falling in NSW.

Residents around Oberon in the state's Central Tablelands witnessed some falls in the first major cold snap this year.

Snow in this time of year is unusual in the area, on the western side of the Blue Mountains, with the falls brought on by a combination of a low pressure system off the coast and cold air in the upper atmosphere.

NSW woman Donna Coventry snapped this series of photos showing the snow in Shooters Hill, which saw some of the heaviest of falls in the Central Tablelands.

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